Birger Brosa

Who was Birger Brosa?

Birger Brosa, jarl of Sweden 1174-1202, d. 9 January 1202 on Visingsö, was a son of Bengt Snivil and a member of the powerful House of Bjälbo. In the medieval texts he is either called the jarl of the Swedes or the jarl of the Swedes and the Geats.

Birger was appointed to the position of jarl during the reign of Knut Eriksson. He maintained the position during Knut's successor Sverker II until his death in 1202.

Before 1170, Birger was married to Brigida Haraldsdotter, the daughter of the Norwegian king Harald Gille. She had formerly been married to the Danish pretender Magnus Henriksson, who had briefly ruled in Uppsala 1160-1161.

Birger appears to have maintained peace in Sweden during the civil wars that ravaged Denmark and Norway. Many of the pretenders in these kingdoms sought refuge with Birger. Among them were the Birkebeiner chieftains Eystein Meyla and Sverre Sigurdsson who were kinsmen of Brigida Haraldsdotter. Birger's son Philippus was in the service of King Sverre and died as his Earl in 1200. Birger owned estates in Östergötland, Närke, Värmland and Södermanland.